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I've been scroll sawing for a few years, I mostly do wood-cut version of old video game sprites. I've been gradually having an issue with pieces from my scroll saw that I don't have with my jigsaw. After I paint the sides, no matter how much I sand, and how smooth they feel before painting, they start getting frayed. In the first pic from a Halloween decoration, the black-painted piece, this is off my jigsaw. I barely had to sand it. In the second pic, from my scroll saw, I sanded this edge down and it felt smooth, then I painted it and it frayed, sanded again, re-painted. After every painting, it frays. When you step back and look at the whole piece you don't notice and it's fine, but this feels like it's getting worse. I mostly use 1/2 inch sande plywood from Home Depot, but I will also sometimes use a baltic birch from a lumber yard. Sometimes I mix in 1/4 inch pieces for 3D effect. The issue is not as bad from the baltic but it still happens. I use the Behr interior paints from Home Depot for the colors. Just looking to try and improve my skills.

This is another sanding topic that might be useful. I sometimes need to sand the edges of a narrow cut or vein. These are sometimes too narrow for cloth backed sand paper. If I use just a thin piece of regular sandpaper, it breaks very quickly. So, I take thin but good quality sandpaper and back it with packing tape. Then simply cut into whatever width and length strips you like. I make them from typically 180, 220, and 320 grit sandpaper.

There seem to be always questions about sanding and what people use. One thing that I like is small sanding sticks I make. I start with wooden sticks like popsicle sticks. I have several different sizes. i use good sandpaper and spray the back with 3M77. I line the sticks up next to each other and apply the sand paper to both sides. I make certain it is well attached and then cut apart with a razor knife. They work really well on small parts or difficult areas. These took me about 10 minutes.

I use a 8" grinder that I have modified by removing the grinding wheels and installing a flex drum sander and a sanding mop. Been suing it about a year with good results. Somewhere along the line - maybe a Youtube vid - I got the idea that by reversing the rotation it would make it easier to use. Then the sanding would be on the top of the drum and not the bottom. I thought, maybe less stress on the old back? It was fairly simple to do, just unbolt the base from the motor and turn it 180. That way the on/off switch is still to the front. In operation, it turned out to be a huge mistake. After having it pull a couple of pieces out of my hand on the drum side and launching a couple off the sanding mop, I have torn the whole thing down and restored it to my original sit up. Jim

I am not sure what type of finished quality I should expect after scroll sawing. I sand the faces of the wood prior to attaching the pattern, my problem is in the cuts. I think my technique is pretty bad, I get tons of jagged edges and wavy cuts while I try to get back on the line and inevitably end up off the other side. Then I spend way too much time sanding it all down for my taste and then when I think it looks fine, I stain it and boom, tons of ugly little marks jump out. Can you all help me understand how finished a cut should be or could be if I got better? Are these artifacts normal or is my technique just that bad? Is there an easier way to sand off my mistakes? I have an oscillating drum sander, but it never seems to fit in the areas where I tend to mess up. I attached a picture of a Humming Bird scroll saw puzzle type thing (Big Book Of Scroll Saw Woodworking, Page 30), this is freshly cut with no additional sanding beyond my orbital sander prior to attaching the pattern. I was unable to get good pictures of all the marks I am talking about, and some of the bad ones only show up a little, but I think you get the idea. If I stained it you would clearly see every single one LoL. Honestly sanding all the surface areas of these cuts is killing the fun times, multiplied by 3 different grits. I can knock off the back fuzzies but it's a pain and I risk break stuff, I read that a reverse tooth blade might help with that, thoughts? https://imgur.com/a/WEptl There should be 3 pictures in this album, I'm still learning this internetz stuff. Any help, tips, criticisms or guidance would be very appreciated, I have my eye on some more complicated stuff, but there is no way I can try those until I minimize sanding. I blame Amazing Kevin for making me want to Scroll projects I have no business Scrolling http://www.scrollsawvillage.com/profile/1607-amazingkevin/

Hello all, I have been working on some modifications to the sanding belt in the jewelers saw. I believe it is the answer. I saw some old fishing swivels near my work bench, and................... That belt is 3/8" wide and is 5" long before gluing. If anyone is going to try this use fresh Super Glue. The first few I made, I used old Super Glue. Don't do that, it takes forever for the glue to dry. Merry Christmas Everyone...

Hello all, Was doing some scrolling today and finished my piece. Next was to sand it. I just got my Olson 1/4"- 5" sanding strips yesterday and thought I'd give them a try. Wrong! They don't fit in my pinless saw clamps. Now, I can't be the first one to think of this, but I put it in a jewelers saw and it works like a charm. See photo. It seems to me that one could use worn out sanding belts, and make them any width to meet the need. The grit on the belt would hold real good to the clamps. Take Care bp

Hi all, I have been reading a LOT of reviews on these 2 sanders: Dewalt & Makita. They both have variable speed features which I understand is needed for fret work mainly due to the ability to slow the sanding speed down. I have never had an orbital sander. Would you please give me a little advice so I don't buy something I get stuck with? I figure If I have not needed an orbital sander before, I don't see myself getting any more powerful sanders than these. Reviews for the Dewalt are great except most of the reviewers didn't like the fact that Dewalt's vac connection is proprietary and a regular vac hose did not fit. Reviews for the Makita are even better except almost all reviewers complained about the dust bag blowing off by itself and making a mess. Here are 2 links to the 2 sanders I am considering: Sorry for the long explanation. I appreciate your comments if you have any of these. Thank you all DEWALT at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DWE6423K-Variable-Random-Sander/dp/B00ZTPCLZ8 MAKITA at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Makita-BO5031K-5-Inch-Random-Sander/dp/B002FJYE0G/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1485832704&sr=1-1&keywords=BO5031K Sam